Diablo III Breaks Records

Since its release on the 15th of May, Diablo III has been selling remarkably well. So well, in fact, that it has smashed previous launch records to become the fastest-selling PC game of all time, with 3.5 million sales in that first day alone.

With another 1.5 million players using their World of Warcraft annual passes to access the game, the release day players figure jumps to an astounding 5 million - more people than the entire population of Ireland. By the end of the first week this figure rose to 6.3 million, though it is reportedly even higher, since Korean players in some internet gaming rooms were not included in the count.

There were a lot of issues with the launch - installation failures and error messages abounded, with a  large amount of internet backlash over the problems, though a spokesperson from Blizzard Entertainment was quick to apologise. CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime said that the company "regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so", adding that "setting a new launch record is a big achievement". Amazon reported that the game also broke company records for the largest amount of pre-sales of any game in history, another record for the Blizzard boys to feel proud of. There is still time for more - the game is not released in Russia until the 7th of June, so expect another sales spike then.

Although players have also complained about the fact that you must always remain online, even in single player mode (in contrast to the first two Diablo titles), reception for the game has thus far remained mostly positive. Remaining connected to the internet makes sense in this day and age, and it may be that this is the way forward for all multiplayer PC games in the future.

Published 24th May 2012 by Rhiannon D'Averc

Rhiannon is a professional writer specialising in a wide range of topics, in particular the world of entertainment. She is also a keen photographer, embroiderer, and all-around creative.